Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[WhatAboutBob?]

There is someone that needs to rehome a black silkie cockerel/rooster in Livingston County.... The thread is https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/trying-to-find-an-adopter.1241214/

 

[dyorto]

Ugh! My wonderful neighbor called me crying and informed me that their dogs escaped from their house unattended. ( Their 3 year old left the front door open as they went to run errands). Their dogs got into the coop/run and killed 8 out of my 9 girls.
She’s my go to person who cares for our chickens and dogs when we are away, so it’s hard to be mad when she feels so awful.
I feel at fault as well for not having made a secure enough run.

They neighbors have offered to get some laying chickens for us so that my last girl isn’t lonely.
Will I need to keep the new birds separate for a while? Or is it ok to put them all together since I only have the one left?
Thanks

 

[bigmrg74]

Hi other mitten chicken people! I’m a green horn when it comes to chickens, this being my first year raising them. We have 3 buff Orpington, 4 Americauna, 3 Isa Brown, 3 Cochin Bantam, 3 Barred Rock, and a Blue Wheaten Maran...so I’m ALL in I also have a 10 year old Labrador, Red, and a 6 month old Australian Shepherd, Comet. As well as two little girls and a very patient husband.

I bet the Aussie will love to herd the chickens around. My mom has a toy Aussie that gets mad if I'm not over early enough in the morning to let her out so that she can go check on her chickies.

Speaking of which, here she is today supervising the little ones being loose in the pen for the first time today with the big girls.

Thinking Sunday evening they're going to go into the big coop full time. Some minor pecking today, but looked like the big girls weren't going out of their way to get them.

 

[Folly's place]

dyorto, so sorry for your loss!
It would be safest to order some day-old chicks, vaccinated against Marek's disease, and wait for them to grow up.
On the other hand, I live near Perry and work in Novi, and do have both adult hens and four week old chicks that could be available, if you are interested.
Mary

 

[RaZ]

I feel at fault as well for not having made a secure enough run.

They neighbors have offered to get some laying chickens for us so that my last girl isn’t lonely.
Will I need to keep the new birds separate for a while? Or is it ok to put them all together since I only have the one left?
Thanks

Normally, I'd go with a quarantine introduction.
In this case, I would break the rules and add started pullets for the solo yard. At least try to get a few hens or pullets that can be added right away. Just know that that is risky and goes against sound bio-security practice. The only benefit is perhaps lowering the stress level of the lone hen.

I will still recommend a quarantine scenario if you can manage it. Even though I've broken with my own advice in a similar situation. Just recently, in fact, after a fox took half of my flock.

Get your run and coop secure as quickly as possible or you might have this trauma again. Don't fault yourself (or the neighbor's kid or dogs) but learn how to prevent it from happening again.

Good luck.

 

[RaZ]

dyorto, so sorry for your loss!
It would be safest to order some day-old chicks, vaccinated against Marek's disease, and wait for them to grow up.
On the other hand, I live near Perry and work in Novi, and do have both adult hens and four week old chicks that could be available, if you are interested.
Mary

That's good advice.
Sadly, I lost a couple of young hens to raptors this week. Perhaps a fox or other ground predator. I had a couple of broody hens under the porch and thought they would be alright there. I think I was mistaken. They are gone. I can only hope that they moved to a better hiding place and will return after a hatch.

 

[aart]

Aart!!! My brother lives next to someone with flocks of those things. Noisy as heck and they're always going in their coop, eating the chicken food, perching on their house and being generally obnoxious. When their birds started to disappear idunno) they finally penned them up. They allowed them to roam freely in a state land area and all over the neighbors yards. As beautiful as they are, they are the worst nuisance "farm" animal in existence!

I still don't know where it came from but it's gone now and I am glad. Someone nearby heard it last evening. We don't know of anyone who 'keeps' them around here <shrugs>

Will I need to keep the new birds separate for a while? Or is it ok to put them all together since I only have the one left?

So sorry for your loss, terrible situation but at least it's not an idiot dog owner....risks have been well explained in getting some started birds, hard to balance the decision, Best of cLuck to you.

 

[SillyChicken]

at least your neighbor called and confessed. My Brothers neighbors dog just did the same thing, and when they took the guys dog back with blood and feathers all over the dog, they still tried to deny their dog did it and this is the second time it's happened.. Next time it'll be SSS.

 

[1muttsfan]

That is so sad, Dyorto.

Under the circumstances, with only one bird left, I would go ahead and skip the quaranteen. Probably would be best to get some young birds, either 6 week or older chicks or young pullets. I would not get any new birds, however, until you completely proofed your run. Those dogs will be back at the first chance they get.

 

[LaketownChick]

I bet the Aussie will love to herd the chickens around. My mom has a toy Aussie that gets mad if I'm not over early enough in the morning to let her out so that she can go check on her chickies.

Speaking of which, here she is today supervising the little ones being loose in the pen for the first time today with the big girls.

Thinking Sunday evening they're going to go into the big coop full time. Some minor pecking today, but looked like the big girls weren't going out of their way to get them.

His first attempt at herding them he ended up scaring one into the pond! Luckily she was able to flap her wings enough to avoid a complete submersion lol

I’ll be adding some Cochin Bandtam and Blue Wheaten Maran chicks to my main flock. The “big girls” are only 10 weeks so they haven’t matured. Trying to decide when it will be best to do the introduction. The new chicks are only a week old so still pretty small.